Affection or Attraction
by Kajskk
Summary: "We live in a world where Affection has gradually been replaced by attraction and greed. I learned through the most innocent being to open my eyes for true passion"
1. The Start

**A/N**

**So this is me reposting this god awful fanfiction I wrote ages ago for the Naruto world. It's an AU story.**

**I do apologise beforehand for the awful grammar, seeing as I haven't even gone over it. I'm such a hypocrite consider I normally suggest people to do just that before posting. But to be fair I kinda just wanted to get this story out there. If it's not perfect, I can live with it. But would you find so many errors and mistakes that it's unreadable I will of course go over it once or twice before updating it again.**

**So please, again, bear with me for this one time? Yeah. My other stories will be shown a bit more attention and love ^^**

**Sorry for the fact the first chapter is really boring. I will spice things up a bit more after this. Just needed to get a few things "out of the way" before the true story could start.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own any of the characters unless they are OC's, and the story itself. I may have found inspiration here and there. But not significant that it would be a rip off.**

**Enjoy**

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><p>It is interesting to see how time changes people, changes society. Konoha, used to be a small city with a high rate of misfortune and poverty. Today it's one of the riches cities in the world. The people of this city worked their way up over time and eventually they gained the economic stability needed to take a huge step forward in terms of development. Both in the society, but also regarding infrastructure and science. Technology that used to seem old fashion soon improved and developed far beyond what anyone thought possibly. With the increasing welfare came also increased greed. The citizens that lived in the city soon realised the fortune and fame they could gain from education and a well profiting job.<p>

My family was no different. In the older days we soon gained high status in society and were all well-educated. By the time I was born we were well established and money was of no concern to us. As young I was a school prodigy, and the family with ancestors of the Yamanakas could rest assure that I would continue the line with the same greatness as previously shown among my relatives.

From a young age I was taught that happiness and greatness came with those who had a lot. So with that view of life I demanded everything I could. Things such as clothes, toys and everything I pointed at. But I also made sure to know as much as I could. So I valued education and never took it lightly. At young age I surpassed my age group by far. So by the time I was 16 I've graduated High School with straight A's.

The Major of our city is an old man named Sarutobi and is well respected despite his old ways. The way he sometimes speaks makes me wonder if it wasn't truly better back then than it is today. To say that I'm not a 'gold digger' like most people in Konoha would be a lie. Because I tried my best to be the best, and among the best I would become for my age. Not only does Sarutobi often speak of the way things were, but he also speaks of a different philosophy. A view of life I never truly understood. He often claimed that the people of today has lost themselves in what they think they want. That we no longer know what true passion is. I used to think the man was too old and didn't understand the things we had. The ability to reach further. But as I grew up and started to find myself I wonder if he was possibly the only one who actually knew what life was about.

So how would it come that I changed my view of life and started to live for the better?

Well it started with a girl. A girl who had nothing worth calling a life. She was the most innocent person I ever met, still she was filled with wisdom and great knowledge of the things you would never even think about. She was the one who opened my eyes.

But before I can tell more about her, you need to get to know me better.

I was born to Yamanaka Inoichi and Fugai. A well respected pair in the modern world. My father is the head chief of the KPF (Konoha, Police Force) while my mother runs a chain of shops. Mainly focusing on natural medicine from her own green houses. Their marriage didn't last long though. Not long after my third birthday they divorced but kept in contact and on speaking terms for my sake. I however mainly grew up with my dad despite his displeasure. He wasn't too keen on bringing up a girl when he was working with typical male based work. Don't get me wrong though, he's a great dad and gave me everything I could have ever wanted. Both in terms of tangible things like toys and clothes. But also in terms things like affection. If you would ask me, I'd say that I was always closer to my dad. We just seemed to think more alike than me and my mother.

To be honest the relationship between my mother and me is strained. We had long and fruitless arguments about my future plans. You see, my mom moved to Konoha not long before she met dad and was never truly impressed with the way people seemed to think. I growing up in that environment never understood why she couldn't just support me like my dad did. Today we barely talk.

They also had very different ways opinions on upbringing. Whereas my mother is rather free spirited and believe in the soul of things and not just people my dad is loyal follower to logic and strict rules. Growing up with him certainly had its peaks. He would never let me do anything that wasn't good enough or worthy my time and he always made sure I had the best in term of education and social networking.

When I started school I had already learned how to read and write fluently. To say I was an arrogant child is an understatement. I thought I was better than everyone else, and sadly in terms of academic I was among my peers. It didn't help my arrogance though. However as I reached my teenager years I would say that while I didn't act like a book worm I certainly was one. But to the public eye I was like any other girl in High School. I was self-conscious, gossiped about anything and everything I could get my greedy claws on and made sure to be known by everyone.

So say I was popular would've been both the truth and a lie. I was popular in the sense that my classmates envied me. The easiness that came with everything I did Everything was so natural. But they didn't just envy me, they despised me for the things I could do, for who I was. But I never cared much about them, so their sometimes mean comments went flying by while I looked towards the future.

During this time I befriended a girl named Tenten. She was a few years older than me an in some sense the opposite of me, in other aspects just the same. While she didn't came from a family with a great name she was a prodigy of her own. Her style and personality was however completely different from mine. Whereas I was 'girly' and liked girly things, such as wearing clothes to show of my growing complexion. Obsessed with what I ate to maintain a slender figure. She couldn't care less. She dressed in boys clothes half the time I met her and had her hair up in various styles to make her otherwise long hair appear short. She could eat about anything and wasn't picky like me. She would happily eat a large pizza with all kind of toppings on where I would just gag at the thought of putting something like that in my mouth. She must have had the greatest metabolism though because she was thin like a stick, both in terms of chest and curves. But we somehow got along wonderfully.

By the time I started University Tenten was already a junior, she is after all a few years older than I am. During this time I focused slightly less on my reputation and appearance than my grades. At this point people would point out that I was a spitting image of my father, who I was also named after. But then again. I've learned a lot from him, and he's a fantastic man once you get know him. No doubt in that.

University seemed to just fly by and soon it was time for Graduation. I received my degree and both my parents attended to congratulate me. My dad seemed in particular happy that I graduated with such excellent grades.

Things took off really quickly after that. Young as I was with excellent grades and reputation, finding work didn't seem very hard. But I wouldn't settle so I aimed for the big stuff. Getting work there was however a lot harder than it seemed and instead I had to land an internship before they would hire me. So I got to work as an intern at the 'psych-dep' as we called. Interesting enough Tenten got the same internship. While I was always good at reading people, Tenten was amazing _with_ people. She seemed to have a natural approach towards people that was just inviting. People would willingly tell her things they would never tell me. I suppose I gave off an aura of intimidation and superiority that they didn't like. But for most of the time this didn't bother me. Tenten's job was to talk and make the clients comfortable and get to know them on a personal level. Whereas mine was to analyse and break them down in details.

Working at HED, 'Human Experiment Department' sounds like we were cutting people open, both in the metaphorical and literal sense. It was truly just a lab and hospital that tried to help and find cures for people with illness of various sorts.

Even if we worked at the same department we often found ourselves with different schedules. It was only truly during lunch we could sit down together and talk. Though we were bound to confidentiality we sometimes shared minor stories. One of those would be about this one guy Tenten sometimes worked with. Rock Lee, he was also an intern but worked as a physiotherapist. He was an odd one. He must have had the thickest eyebrows ever to be beheld by the human population. Overall he was a nice guy though. A bit overdramatic and disturbingly similar to his mentor, who he referred to as "Guy Sensei". Not only did they behave similarly but they also distinctively similar sense of fashion. One I was too scared to ask- or even think about.

It was anyway through Lee that Tenten met Hyuuga Neji. A tall guy with long brown hair, similar colour to Tenten. But unlike her he more than often had it let down in a neat low pony tail. At first impression I thought he acted a bit pompous and the way he sometimes talk was just laced with arrogance. Tenten didn't seemed to think that though. She was enthralled by him from the first time they met. He was, according to her 'marvellous'. How anyone could use that word to describe him, I don't kno. But she did. I tried to tell her that it was just a silly crush, an instant attraction. Nothing more. However, she wouldn't have none of it. He saw something beyond his many doctor degrees, face an antics. After long and painful (to watch) tries to communicate with the man she managed to grab his attention. Eventually we would end up sitting at the same table at lunch so Tenten and Neji could have some time together while at work. In fact he made subtle changes while around her. Like offering his chair and get another one himself, making sure she was comfortable and offering his drink if she forgotten to bring any. Lee appeared to be an old friend of Neji and they seemed to belong to a group of people all who was either working as inters or had a full time position. Some of them worth mentioning was Uchicha Sasuke, Hyuuga Hinata, Choji Akimichi, Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru. How that guy ever caught my interest is a mystery to this very day.

I soon found out that they boy must have been the laziest guy I ever met. He never seemed happy or excited about anything. Not even over his position as analyst and founder of many medical concepts. He eventually came out to pursue me after I was turned away by Sasuke. Why I even tried with that guy is beyond me. At first he seems mysterious and to say that he's not good looking would be a lie. But at closer inspection you will notice that he's even fuller of himself than Neji, which is a feat even I can't get close to. At least I have some sense of compassion. Sasuke on the other hand would bother to spend his breath at you and only respond with throaty answers if responding at all.

Anyway. I had been mopping around when he had openly denied me what I wanted; him. I can't say I take losses very well. After all I was Yamanaka Ino. The girl who got anything she pointed at. So to be denied something or in this case someone was rather embarrassing. Shikamaru seemed to have had enough of me at some point though and came up to me one day. All he said was that 'I was even more depressing than he was' and that I should move on with my life. Well perhaps, persuade isn't the right word for what he did. He basically called me pathetic, after all. But he did succeed to get me to do and think about other things than Sasuke. The next thing I remember was to turn around, flicking my long hair as to show that his words didn't affect me. The floor must have been newly mopped, because I lost my balance and my face was soon to be closely in contact with the cold floor. But nothing happened. And when I looked up he had caught me. Looking at me with those lazy eyes, but still managed an intense stare.

It wasn't long after that he and I became close friends and shortly after started to date. Life seemed perfect. I was satisfied at work, even hoped to get a promotion after some rumors from my new friends. While I waited for this likely promotion to happen I spent most of my spare time with Shikamaru and sometimes with Tenten. I even lived with him during the weekends when we were both off.

It paradise didn't last forever however and we soon realized that we weren't _in love._ Not to say that many was in modern times. But for some reason it just didn't feel right to be together when our feelings didn't past that stage of friendship. To say that we were merely attracted to each other may sound harsh but we both confessed that there was nothing more between us than just that. Attraction. Even if Shikamaru appeared to be a lazy slob he truly was a genius. He would sometimes be called in to special cases of diseases and injuries and help the doctors work out what method would be the best approach to save the patient's life. If the rest of us that was working there could weigh our knowledge in gold his could be weighted in pure diamond with the veil of dirty carbon. Scratch on the surface and you will be blinded by the intensity of his mind. And while he was lazy and had to 'drag' himself to work and make some 'troublesome' decisions I still seemed to be unbelievable attracted to him. I could never really complain when we were in the privacy of our bedroom.

But as I said, we eventually broke up but remained close friends. I would still spend weekends at his and occasionally when we both were in the mood for it have casual sex.

Regardless of my bond with Shikamaru it was the loud mouthed Uzumaki Naruto who would be the start of what changed my life and who I am today. He was the only one at our lunch table that was working in the lab full time with the exception of Sasuke. Not that he would ever share what it was he was doing or even what position he had. All in confidentiality of the lab and their wicked experiments. Anyway, unlike Sasuke, Naruto worked as a technician of some sort, monitoring the heavy equipment and other necessary areas where he might be needed. At first glance he doesn't appear very bright, and to be fair it didn't take me long to understand that he wasn't. But once he learned something we was exceptional. So I suppose at some point he gained all this knowledge through experience and it just stuck with him.

The Hyuuga girl, Hinata, have a huge crush on him, but he of course was oblivious to that. Instead he seemed to repeatedly talk about this one, very special girl.

Funny thing though. No one seemed to know who she was. He mentioned once or twice that she was a bit younger than him, but you could still tell that she was gorgeous. He used to be able to describe everything about her in detail, the way her skin looked, her hair, the small, almost invisible freckles over her nose, and so on. The way he described you'd think he been standing in front of her countless hours just taking everything in. Every little facial detail he could come over. What had me ponder about the things he said was however how he described her. He always described how she looked how fair she was, but never any personal traits. The few times he did, it was almost as if he guessed. Like he didn't know. I know I thought of the whole thing as a bit peculiar, Naruto never seemed to be the shallow type. And I should know, having a brief crush on Sasuke, just for his appearance and smarts. But even I would describe more than what they look. Such as personality, the way they move. How they talk. But no, Naruto would never give out such details. Why I even noticed all this about him was because at times he could act as if obsessed with her.

I decided one day during lunch break that I'd ask him about it. I mean, we were friends and even if the others either didn't care or dared to ask about it I knew at least some of them was just as curious as I was. For all we knew, we might actually know who she is. I didn't want to make Hinata uncomfortable so I made sure to wait until she left. Since her shift always starts a few minutes earlier than most of us it would give me the perfect opening.

"Hey Naruto" I said, trying to gain his attention.

He turned his head up from his lunch, which was as always, ramen. Where the hell he got the stuff from was a mystery. As far as any of us knew there were no places nearby to buy it, but he would still bring up a hot meal at lunch.

"Yeah?" He replied, unaware of my intentions of this conversation.

I rarely spoke to him so I understood the confused look in his eyes. One could say I in our early meetings hadn't been too nice to him.

"Wo's the girl?" I asked carefully. Not sure how he would take the question. I leaned my chin on one of my hands to let it rest while I waited for his answer.

A smile I couldn't define was quickly taking over his face. It wasn't the usual happy smile he wore when speaking of her. He almost looked sad.

"Well? Who is she?" I knew I pushed maybe a bit more than I normally would. But I was curious so who could blame me. At this point most of the others around the table had halted their conversation to get the answer from their otherwise so joyful friend.

"Well… She's, uh… a patient" he eventually replied. I got an odd feeling that he was struggling to define what or who she was. As if patient didn't really cut it. I didn't really see a problem with that. What's so wrong with being a patient? I've seen plenty of handsome male patients here. It was a combined lab and hospital after all.

"Is she ill?" I asked trying to sound sympathetic to the reason why he seemed so sad. Not just that, but I also wanted to know more. This was the most I knew about her apart from what he told us before.

Patients was never my fortune and growing more and more impatient with Naruto's lack of words, which he normally so eagerly spits out I lost it, to a degree.

"Is she mental?" I know, it was rather blunt of me saying something like that. But at least then I would understand why he never tried to speak of her personality.

His response, however, caught me off guard. He rose from his chair so quickly that his chair fell back and hit the floor with a loud clang. His eyes stared into mine with such intensity that I grew uncomfortable under them.

"Just because everyone isn't as high and mighty as you are Yamanaka, doesn't make them mental" he sneered out. In response I could only stare in shock, unaware of what I said was so bad. I after all worked with these "mental" people. I meant no harm by what I said.

Growing defensive I gained my composure and stared him square back.

"So why won't you just answer my question. What could possibly be the reason?" I frowned at him almost as much as he did at me.

"She's asleep! Okay. Just… Just leave it alone, will you?"

With that he left is unfinished ramen and the rest of us staring confusedly after him.

Feeling my own temper go back to normal I started to feel bad for what I've done and said. I looked around but they were quick to go back and mind their own business. I caught Sasuke returning his gaze to the papers in his hand after staring at Naruto's back. Instead of trying to get anything from them I turned towards Tenten

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Leave it Ino. He's been like that all week. I think something might have happened" She reached out her hand and stroke my arm in comfort, knowing it was a blow to my ego to be yelled at like that.

I never asked about the mysterious girl again, I've learned my lesson. Naruto didn't mention her for a long time either and it got me to wonder if he had some genuine feelings for her.

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><p><strong>AN**

**This was the first chapter. Please feel free to review. And if you to decide to do so, feel free to say what you in particular liked or disliked. Any feedback is good. But try to be constructive about it. No need to be harsh about it.**

**The next chapter should be up fairly soon, just need to rewrite it quickly and go over it... maybe...**

**Cheers!**


	2. Promotion

Things seemed to proceed calmly after the incident with Naruto. Sure enough he was back to his goofy old self and as for the mysterious girl? Well I guess she would have to remain a mystery to us. And since he never brought her up again, she was soon forgotten among other subjects.

As for me, things seemed to be better than ever. Sure, being just an intern had its disadvantages. Such as I had to keep study even if I've already gotten a doctorate degree, but as usual I couldn't settle with that. And to be fair, I've always loved to study, only now I actually tried and put some real effort into it. Wanted to surpass my father and be someone great. Someone people would know about and look upon in awe and admiration. So to do that I kept studying, kept climbing that ladder that would bring me to high places. My hard studying and effort soon paid off, as I was moved from the psych-dep to the ER.

However my tasks consisted to start from the bottom, and I ended up doing chores such as cleaning wounds, patching people up and go rounds. My supervisor, a short woman named Shizune, seemed to approve of my work, and soon enough she gave me more task. More advanced ones. I knew from an early stage that she was my golden ticket to get where I wanted. All I had to do was to keep working, keep studying and she would eventually acknowledge my efforts and skill. That she was a previous apprentice of the one who brought fame to Konoah and its hospital, did inspire me and kept my hopes up. Not a year later I participated in my first surgery alongside Shizune. I had only been on her side watching the work she did and handed her the tools and equipment needed, but it hadn't taken long before I was the one standing above the patient cutting them open to fix the injuries they had. Shizune had shortly after that approached me and said I was naturally gifted when it came to such a precise work. She even praised my bedside manners. Being a previous intern at the psych-dep and skill to read people helped me help them through what they had in front of them. Families as well as patients.

So as things seemed. I did really well. I was happy where I currently was, though I still aimed to get further. I had friends both in and outside of work and I had a steady sex life whenever it suited is. I got steady feedback from Shizune that the others working at the ER were happy with my work and she had once mentioned speaking to the Lady of the building herself. The head chief. To say that I was excited over hearing such news would be an understatement. I had barely been able to control myself in front of her, though I'm pretty sure she saw right though the mask of calm confidence I had.

It was a Thursday, I think, when it arrived. It had been a long day at work and all I wanted to do was to drop down on my sofa and take a long nap before the next shift 6 hours later. But before I could do that I had to go through the post I've left for the last two days. I remember going over to the counter where I always dropped it before moving further in my flat. Most of it had been bills and some advertisements for various products I wasn't interested in. So most of that went into the bin as soon as I had a once over, over it. I might love the status my parents given me and the perks of being wealthy even if I was far from rich, but I wasn't one to waste my money away on unnecessary things like that. After all, I still had basic things to pay for, such as rent, water, gas and other necessities.

I had been about to throw the last envelope away when I stopped mid-move. A small green symbol had caught my eye, and when I looked closer I could confirm it was indeed the crest of the hospital. It was a small, but thick line that made a very basic shape of a leaf. I inhaled slowly, uncertain of what this meant. I knew from speaking to colleagues that it was the kind of letter they sent to people they, as they nicely put it, "let them go" or when you were promoted. I knew for sure it wasn't the second. Shizune had basically said that I should expect a letter of promotion. But a small part of me was uncertain. What if it wasn't a promotion? What if I was fired? I tried to think over the past few weeks if I've done anything that would have them sack me like bag of potatoes. But when nothing came to my mind I decided that I couldn't wait any longer. I was nervous beyond and I bit my lip as I fumbled with envelope.

Damn the glue on these things. It's practically impossible to open it without ripping it completely. As I tried a few more attempts with my fingers I soon gave up and rushed into the kitchen to get a knife and made a nice quick slit.

"There" I said to myself. Trying to calm myself a bit. "Finally got the damn thing open."

I looked on the outside one more time, just to confirm it was for me. Yamanka Ino. Right. That was me. With a deep breath I slid two fingers down to pull up the letter meant for me. I unfolded it carefully and started to read. I read it once, twice and when I read it for a third time I just as carefully put the letter down on the counter top. I had to breathe. But before I even take a full breath I had ripped the thing open again just to read it another few times. This time out loud.

I couldn't believe this was _it._ I knew I had been waiting months, even years for this, but I still couldn't believe it. A smile crept on the corner of my mouth and before I knew it I was smiling as goofily as Naruto after a good meal of ramen. As I leaned on the counter I spaced out thinking about what this meant. I was finally getting what I wanted. Without wasting another second I rushed out in the lounge and threw myself over the sofa to grab the phone. I dialled a familiar number and pressed the devise to my ear.

"Come on… Pick up…" I fidgeted impatiently with my hair while the tone went through. I knew it was late, but it wasn't that late. I glanced at the time on the DVD-player. Okay so it was eleven o'clock in the evening, but she shouldn't be in bed yet. Unless... No I rather not go there, not now at least.

After what seemed to be eternity but in reality was only a minute or two someone answered.

"Hello" a soft voice said.

"God damn Tenten. You know, you should at least try to answer it before people hang up and decided that you're too boring to even talk to" I said a tad annoyed that she hadn't even made an effort to take it before I gave up.

"What for? You always wait until I answer anyway" she replied and I could her hear stifle a giggle on the other side.

"Whatever…" I said and took a pause. I needed to calm myself and it would hopefully make her at least slightly curious about why I was set on talking to her.

"So, what's up?" she eventually asked after a long silence. I knew it was childish, but with Tenten you could always allow yourself to be a bit childish. In other words, you could be yourself around her.

"I got it" I exclaimed without missing a beat.

"Er… Congratulations?" She said, trying to work out what I was on about. I decided to give her a few seconds to figure it out.

"Ehmm" I had to stifle a giggle at the uncertainty in her voice.

"Ahh!" she suddenly cried "You got it? Don't tell me you got it?" she continued in the same excited tone.

Now that's what I had been waiting for. I was starting to wonder. But then again I never give her much to go on. Oh well. She's not as slow as she seems. She just needs some time.

"I did indeed" I said confidently

"So when will you- Where are you going to work- I mean when is the meeting?"

She cut herself of more than one time, seemed to have trouble to settle on what to ask. I shook my head. She did that a lot.

"I don't know. I it only said I would talk to _Her_ on Next Monday. As for what I'm going to do, it didn't state. But I'm moving to a different department. Perhaps they're offering my a full time position. All it said was that it's confidential and that she would talk to me about it in person"

There was a slight pause as Tenten took in what I've just said, and only now did I realise how odd it seemed. Tenten seemed to share my train of thoughts.

"Weird…" she said "So what do you know then?"

"Not much really. I'm supposed to meet her to discuss my promotion. Shizune has signed on the bottom and congratulated me for my advancement and wished me further luck" I twirled some of the hair hanging in front of my face between my fingers. A nervous habit I have when I'm alone.

We sat in silence again as we both seemed to be thinking on separate things. That until Tenten decided to break the silence.

"So Neji asked me to move in with him" Her voice was casual, almost sounding boring. I frowned slightly. She didn't sound half as happy about it as I would've thought she would be the day his subject was brought up. After all she was the one who had been pinning after him for months now.

"What did you say?" I asked carefully but still trying to push for more information.

"I said no. At least not yet. I'm not ready and honestly I don't think he's either. It's just that he thinks it's the appropriate thing to ask, you know. As if everything follows a long list he has to tick off"

"So what happened? You've been nagging about this for months. You said only last month you wanted him to ask you. Why aren't you happy when he finally do?"

I fail to see the problem here. Sure Neji is not my type of guy and I don't think I would ever befriend him if it wasn't for Tenten, but the guy seem to genuinely care for her. Tenten is a hard nut to crack at times. She can be this bubbly little parrot that can be really open about pretty much anything. But as soon as things get too personal she shuts down completely.

"I don't know. I think it was the way he said it"

"And how did he say it?" I sighed. She sounded far from happy and it bothered me. I didn't like it when Tenten wasn't happy.

"Well, we were having a good time like usual. We were just cuddling in the soda together and we had just been discussing different things we aspired in life… and then there was just this awkward silence you know. When you feel that you need to say something but don't. So Neji just blurted it out. Not even sounding sincere about it. Like he felt that he had to ask me but didn't really want to. I left pretty shortly after that." She finished off.

I took a moment to think before replying, jumping on the hate train isn't really the best tactic at the moment.

"Hey, I'm sure you'll work it out. He's not really a living example of showing emotions even though he clearly cares" I said trying to bring her mood up.

"Yeah, I know. I suppose I just have to get used to it, now that we're dating" I heard her yawn on the other side so I knew this conversation had reached its end.

"Well, good talk Yamanaka, but I'm really tired. See you tomorrow?"

"Sure thing. Sweet dreams Tenten" and with that she wished me a good night and we hung up.

I wasn't really surprised that things didn't work out for them as smoothly as they might have wished. After all, they are a rather odd couple, with him being stiff and arrogant while she's relaxed and more free spirited than any other human I've met so far. I shook the thoughts of the two out of my head as I went to make myself ready for the night.

The rest of the week didn't seem to go any slower despite that I was busy for most of the days. There had been a train accident on Friday. So there had been really busy in the ER over the weekend. Emergency operations, concussions, broken bones, scratches, well you name it. But I managed to get pass that with only a minimum loss of sleep.

My parents decided to have a family dinner over the weekend as well. Why I they insist on doing it together all three of us, I still don't understand. Since the only thing that seem to get comfortable is the silence that takes up most of our family gatherings.

Over the rest of my weekend I spent most of it reading the new contract, as well as the induction booklet (that might as well be published as a book, consider the thickness of the thing). I also had a few forms to fill out. Shizune had made sure I got before I left on Saturday morning. I spent a lot of time doing that and just getting more nervous as I kept reading. There were files that seemed in particular odd that I couldn't help to wonder over. When I called Tenten to see if she knew if this was some kind of new procedure, she had no idea what it was about and I was left to wonder what all this was actually for.

Monday finally came. To say I was nervous as I made my way to the hospital chief, Lady Tsunade, would be the year's biggest understatement. For one I finally getting the long wanted promotion I've worked so hard for. But I was mainly nervous about meeting one of the Sanin Legends. She had during the peak of her carrier made a huge medical breakthrough which led to a long row of further discoveries. Most of which can be found on hospitals all over the world. With her medical breakthrough she also became instantly famous and rumours has it she made a fortune. Rumour also has it she's a big gambler and lost most of it that way. There's however something else Lady Tsunade is famous for, apart from her medical knowledge and problem with keeping money. She's said to have a horrible temper and once sent a man to the hospital with more injuries than you would from falling from a 10th floor down on asphalt. The man had during her youth dared to peek at her in the locker room and when he was found out he barely got away alive. That man had been Jiraiya, a close friend of hers whom she grew up with. I read that he now was retired and wrote erotic novels, but he also wrote a biography about his shared life with Tsunade and Oroshimaru.

Some believe they all worked for the government and the reason none of them are known to have a surname simply are due to the names being code names. Others believe they still do and some are not quite sure what to think. All they know is that all of them has in one or several ways made themselves famous and acknowledged worldwide.

Anyway, it's not like I think she would go to such lengths with me, but it does make you slightly nervous to meet such a famous and infamous woman. You would think twice before trying any tricks with her.

Before I knew it I was standing in front of her door, uncertain what to do. I wasn't normally this nervous about, well anything. But something within me said that this was going to change my life, literary. Perhaps that was why. I don't know. After gathering my thoughts and taken a deep breath I knocked quietly on the door, not wanting to seem like I was about to burst through the door and demand her attention.

I stood there for a while, waiting for the magic words. When none came I knocked again, this time a little firmer. When I yet again didn't get any answer I wondered what in the world would take her so long to allow me in. Losing my patient I knocked hard and firm on the door. When all I was met with was silence I reached out to try the knob. A thought occurred to me. Perhaps she wasn't in, that would explain why no one seemed to respond to my knocks. Then again she was the one who had appointed this meeting.

I tried the handle and was surprised to find it open. Carefully I opened the door and calling out.

"Tsunade-Sama" I said while peeking into the room. Careful to not speak too loud would she be simply busy.

What surprised me was that the room was completely dark, not even the sunlight managed to break through the blinders. For a moment I thought no one was in there and was just about to close the door when something stopped me. A noise. I stopped mid-movement and just listened, tying to work out if I imagined the whole thing. But there it was again. The noise. Is that someone snoring? I opened door fully to let some more light in and frowned upon the sight. The office was a complete mess, and we're not talking about a few papers scattered around. It was a complete war zone. How anyone could even consider working in such a mess was beyond me.

I was brought out of my train of thoughts when another snore disturbed the silence. Carefully to not step on anything around on the floor I zigzagged my way through the room until I stood in front of the large oak desk.

And there she lay, happily sleeping away all her problems… and responsibilities.

Carefully not to disturb the sleeping lion I reached out and shook her shoulder.

"Tsunade-Sama" I repeated trying to wake her up. I glanced around the desk a bit and took in the mess that was. Papers, old pizza boxes and is that a bottle of sake?

If I'd say that the disappointment weren't there I'd be lying. I'd be nervous about going here today, nervous about what she would say or do. Just because of her reputation. Both as an amazing world renowned doctor and for her temper. But this, this was just ridiculous. I had a hard time to hold on to my respect.

When my gentle shaking didn't help I used a bit more force, which had her whole body wobbling. Still she wouldn't wake up

"Tsunade!" I eventually said, trying to raise my voice to get her attention. When that didn't work I stood and placed my hands on my hips in frustration.

"She… This must be a joke" I mutter under my breath as I try to figure out what to do next. To my surprise she shot right up in her seat staring wildly at me like a hungry animal.

"What was that?" her voice was rough after her nap, and most likely from the alcohol she's been consuming. I jumped a bit in shock and took a step back. And then we just stood there. Staring at each other. One in clear annoyance and one in puzzlement. I being the later one of course.

"Who the hell are you?" she started, but she didn't wait for my reply as she continued "and why the hell did you wake me up?" she asked me. The nervousness I've lost was suddenly back and I took another few step back so I was again placed in front of the desk instead of beside it.

In the meantime Tsunade decided she didn't need my answer "It doesn't matter. Did you bring the reports I wanted?" her hand waved in front of me impatiently as she dug around the mess on her desk. And I had to wonder if the alcohol in her system was still in effect because I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Well?" her voice were strong and sharp as she practically barked at me.

It was only now I found my voice and managed to stutter out a question. "What reports?" I stupidly say. I felt stupid, though I shouldn't. I wasn't there to deliver reports. I was there to talk about my promotion, but the way she said it made me feel like I missed something obvious. I shook my head in confusion and she seemed to do the same but for another reason.

"Incompetent id- So what do you want then?" her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked me up and down. "You're not one of those sneaky reports, are you? Bastards…" she mumbled under her breath.

"No… I'm here for a job... I'm here for a promotion… I mean I'm here because you asked me to" I said fumbling with my hands as I tried to find the small envelope among all the forms I brought with me. I eventually got it up and by the time I reached it across to her I noted she had straightened on her seat. Her elbows on the desk and her expression just screamed with impatient and annoyance.

Without breaking eye contact she snatched the envelope from my hands. She eyed me with the same suspicion for a short while before looking down at the envelope and nodded at the seal for the hospital printed on it.

"Promotion, huh?" she eventually muttered, opening the letter inside and skimming through it quickly. All the while I got more and more nervous. Perhaps this had been a mistake?

"Ahh. Yamanaka" she cried out sounding far more cheerful than before but still with sharpness to it. I wasn't sure whether I liked it or not and shifted uncomfortable trying to look anywhere but at her, but without looking ignorant.

"I've heard about you from Shizune" I dared to look at her and she smirked at me, making me all the more wary.

Was that a good thing?

"She seems to think you have some kind of talent, a prodigy of sort. Are you Yamanaka?" the smirk still in place she looked far too comfortable than I'd like her look like. I started to wonder where this was going.

Just out of nervousness I started to sputter "Well, I suppose I know some… things" I said shyly. I don't know where my confidence went. Sure, I was nervous but I'd been that before without talking like someone with stage fright before. But just her presence intimidated more than anyone ever had before. I started to realise where her reputation came from. This woman took no bullshit from anyone. That much was clear.

"I see" she started "But I can't very well promote people that might know 'some thing' now, can ?" she looked me directly in the eye as she continued "So tell me exactly why I should promote you instead of someone else of the idiots down stairs?" In a sign of further comfort with herself she leaned back, putting her hands behind her head to rest. Looking expectantly at me all the while.

And that seemed to snap be out of whatever stupor I was put in, ever since waking her up.

"Because I've advanced faster than any other in the same year. I've gained further knowledge than my department requires and applied this countless of times over in my work, only to achieve a result over expectations. I have an eye for details whereas many would miss something, that could be essential, I have managed to pick up on the small changes" I say bluntly and not really informing her of any details from my years at the hospital. Even if she appears like a slob and drunk, I could tell by the way she looked at me that she was more informed of who I was than she was giving away. For a long time silence filled the air. I met her gaze straight on for a long while before I broke it by looking to the side. _Shit!_ I must have appeared too confident. Tenten always said it would get to me one day.

Then out of nowhere she nodded.

"Fair enough. I suppose there is something of value within you, even if I think you seem a bit too shallow for my taste" she grimaces at that part and I frowned in dislike. Who the hell was she to judge me after such a short time? Before I could retort she yawned.

"Well what are you waiting for? Shoo!" she said waving her hand at me again.

"But I don't know where I'm being moved to, let alone what my new work assignment will be. The letter and forms only briefly mention a single subject that will be in my care" I said raising my eyebrows in confusion. "That's why I'm here. To discuss that" I tried to push the matter further by place my hands on the desk and lean forward a bit.

"Huh? Oh… Right? You'll be working under Kabuto in the lab. He works directly under Oroshumaru, who's the lab's chief. The hospital and lab work closely together and have a strong partnership. You will start your work with… said patient soon enough. But before that you will have to take part of some previous experiments they've been working on. I'd suggest you make yourself go over to HED and find Kabuto"

"HED?" was all I could say. She glanced at me, her patients wearing thin. I better speed this up if I expected to still have a job this afternoon.

"Yes. HED. Human Experiments Department. HED" she repeated and I blushed slightly. I probably should have known that consider how I just a moment ago bragged about myself.

"It's a private branch of the hospital that's being invested by various of sole investors. Now, would you mind leave? I have things to do and you distract me" and wit that she grabbed the bottle on her desk and in one swing emptied it finishing of with a grunt of pleasure and a burp.

I snapped out of my state and turned to leave, hoping that I never had to enter this office ever again. My annoyance with the woman grew as I closed in on the door. _What a bitch_. If it wasn't for me she would've still been asleep. But before I could reach the door she called out for me again. I turned to look at her and try, and fail miserably, at hiding my irritation.

"Oh, there's some forms you need to fill out and give to Oroshimaru or Kabuto. They wouldn't be too happy with you if you didn't have them. My signature should already be on them" she said without looking up.

"I've already been sent several booklets of forms that I've read and filled out" I replied in slight confusion.

"These ones wasn't sent out to you. They should be there somewhere around you"

I looked at her blankly for a while before I glanced over the mess of papers over the floor that I just had a couple of minutes tried to avoid. So I found myself looking for the damn papers for the next ten minutes while she was 'working' at the desk, an amused smile never leaving her lips.

After going through pretty much everything, and in the process had to clean it up to make sense of what I was looking for, I still hadn't found any forms.

So there I sat, in frustration, on a dirty floor looking for papers that were clearly not there while the woman in front of me was smirking and covering a laugh with a cough. In an attempt to not lose my temper I just stood up and looked at her, trying to challenge her to just give me what I needed. But I had to say, this woman was a pro as she just looked back at me with a confused and curious expression.

"Is there something wrong Yamanaka?" she eventually said. False innocence dripping from her voice.

"No. Everything is fine. Are you sure the forms were on the floor?" I asked through my teeth. Trying to keep my mouth shit or I had a feeling there would be hell to pay. She was just about to say something, most likely to get to my nerves, when a loud knock came from the door.

Tsunade looked at me for a while before ansewering.

"Enter"

Shizune appeared around the large door and when her eyes met mine she looked just as confused as I did.

"Miss Yamanaka?" she said, looking from be to Tsunade and then back at me. Who by the way suddenly seemed far more busy than she had before and quickly scribbled down something down on a paper.

"Tsunade-Sama. Why is Yamanaka still here? I thought you were supposed to send her to me after you informed her. You know as well as I do that I got the last forms for her. In this miss it would just go missing. Then I'd take her down to HED, because I need to speak to Oroshimaru anyway" she informed us and I had to stare at her in a mix of annoyance and awe. _That bitch!_ She played me right from the start. Without trying to stop myself I glared at the doctor, not caring who the hell she was. She had played skilful and planned the game well. And I had just followed the rules like a good old dog. I looked down at the floor and then up, and even her desk looked more cleaned up. She made me clean up her mess! I gritted my teeth and stared at her again, and she looked unbelievable innocent.

"Was I? I must have forgotten"

Yeah, I'm sure you did

"Very well. You are both dismissed" she said and turned her concentration back to her papers again. I was about to say something to make the woman regret what she just did. But before I had the chance Shizune grabbed my arm and basically shoved me out.

"What the hell was that about?" I couldn't keep my calm so I practically yelled at her. I waved my arms uncontrolled almost hitting a by passing doctor who gave me a disapproval look. I just glared back. I was in an awful mood and all because of Tsunade. This promotion sounded more and more like a joke rather than a job. I looked pleadingly at my mentor and she have me a half sympathetic look.

"Don't be such a child Ino" She smiled at me as she started walking. She often called me by my first name when it was only the two of us. I think it was kinda cute. Shizune wasn't one for formalities but at the same time very formal around others. A bit like Tenten, in some respects.

"Tsunade-Sama just likes to mess with people… and make them do her job if she can. I'm sure it's not as bad as you make it out to be" I've heard Shizune speak of Tsunade before, but never had I realised how much she respected the woman. The use of honorific while it was only the two of us said enough. Perhaps I'd been a little hard on the woman.

My tensed body posture slowly relaxed until I felt like myself again.

"She made me clean up the mess she made… And she was asleep when I came in" I pouted slightly when I said this, still a bit sore over the event.

Shizune however snorted and looked more irritated than amused. "Just like her. We're at the end of the financial year and she…" she trailed off looking my way and then sighed. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I have the firms you need. Have you filled out the once that was sent home to you last week?" her tone was a much brighter one and the words from earlier seemed all forgotten.

"Yes" I nodded and pulled out the booklets out of my bag and switched to the much thinner pile Shizune gave me. I was glad to see it was just a couple of papers compared to the bible I had to previously read and fill out. I gave them a quick glance to see what they were about. They seemed much like the rest but with a few other highlighted notes regarding security and confidentiality regarding my work.

"You'll have time to fill it out once we're there" She spoke up before I could voice my question. I only nodded in return, carefully putting the papers in my bag. Then a thought occurred and I frowned at it.

"Why is it so…"

"Strict? Demanding and almost frightening?"

"I was going to say inflexible, but sure. Strict works too" I changed and she just smiled at me.

"You're not only going to work at the hospital Yamanaka, as Tsunade should've informed you off" she threw me a quick glance to confirm what she said. When she saw the tilting of my head she continued. "I'm however surprised Oroshimaru or even Kabuto showed such an interest in you so directly. You have to understand. They're very secretively about everything and doesn't make their choices lightly when they have to welcome someone new to the team"

"Do Tsunade know what their work is about?" I asked, more curious about this HED department I would soon be part of.

"Of course he does. Oroshimaru may be an expert at DNA-modification and manipulation but he would be nothing without her. And consider that she is the one that guarantee financial stability to the lab he is obligated to report everything back to her" The answer was as solid as the ground we walked on and I left it at that.

Instead I only nodded, still confused how I was going to be part of this whole ordeal.

"Do you know?" I asked, looking at her expectantly. She nodded shortly.

"Yes. Tsunade-Sama needs some organisation in her work and not to talk about a conscience to remind her of the ethics and morals of things. Ino. Some of the things here tread a very fine line of almost breaking the law. Some so sensitive it perhaps shouldn't even be allowed in the first place. Surely you must've noticed that the forms you were given were far more into depth on that specific point than any regular promotion would be?"

Well she was right about that.

"Did she tell you anything about you will be doing?" she turned a left at the next turn and the stopped in front of the lifts. I shook my head, feeling much like a school kid following her teacher around like a pet.

"Why aren't I surprised?" She sighed and stepped into the lift and took out a card that she swiped through the card reader and then pressed the yellow button next to it. It made a slight sound before we started to descend downwards. I didn't answer her rhetorical question and just stood there silent next to her as we rode the lift.

"Well, you be working under Kabuto, as far as we know it might be some supervisor in between, but you will always report back weekly directly to him. You will be observing and assessing one of our more… sensitive subjects. You cannot in anyway mention anything it to anyone. If you don't think you can handle it you will have to resign immediately. You're tied down hard on this contract Ino"

I frowned slightly. Okay, so I know I seem like I can't keep my mouth shut. But she should know I value patient confidentiality just as high as any other doctor at the hospital. When she saw my expression she only smiled reassuringly before placing her hand on my shoulder.

"I never doubted you Ino, but I had to inform you. As I said earlier, your first task will be to observe, then later on it build up. They probably want to see how you work and then work out how to approach the subject with you as well. But Ino" She pushed my shoulder so I was facing her fully. Her eyes hadn't lost the gently touch, but there was something else. Worry? " Be careful. I know Tsunade-Sama and Oroshimaru goes a long way back. But I don't trust their reasons. Please be careful. You will see some things that you could never dream of ever existing"

Her tone had me worried. While I was still curious and excited at the prospect of working on something so important. Her warning had me on the edge for a bit. And that's when I saw it. In Shizune's eyes I hadn't promoted myself for a higher position but rather tied myself to something I couldn't back out of. Her far less cheerful demeanour had a chill going down my spine.

It felt like forever before the lift reached its floor. We must've been quite far down because while Tsunade's office was on the top floor we had to be below the ground floor consider the unnatural long ride.

Shizune lead me through the empty corridors in silence. I wasn't so sure I was in mood for small talk. If I thought the hospital was sterile, it was nothing to what this place was. It stung my eyes as I walked, trying to get used to the complete white look. It felt as if we had walked into a sci-fiction film of sort. The bright light that glowed along the skirting board and ceiling.

We took another few turns before we came to a stop. All right, to be fair the only reason I noticed we stopped was because I walked right into Shizune. I had been to engrossed in my own thoughts to notice her. I sent her a look of apology before taking a step back. She only signalled for me to pay attention.

In front of us a man stood. He looked to be a few years younger than Shizune, who was in her mid-30's. He had round glasses perched upon his straight nose. He was currently in the middle of yelling at someone who done the unfortunate mistake to bring the wrong coffee.

Once he was done yelling at the other man he turned to us. His white hair, I now noticed was long and pulled into a messy pony tail. But what surprised me the most about him was his greying hair. He looked far too young to already grown grey hair. He gave us a tense smile. Unlike Shizune's warm one his was cold and distant. They stared for a moment at each other before he broke the contact by pushing up his glasses with his finger.

"Shizune, here so early. What can we do for you today?" his voice was smooth and kind but something told me he was anything but kind when showing his true colours.

"Kabuto. You know perfectly fine why I'm here" and with that she took a step to the side and placed a hand on my shoulder. He only gave her an amused smile before turning and looking at me.

"Yamanaka Ino?" He asked and I stepped forward to take his outstretched hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you" I said smiling at him.

"No… No, the pleasure is ours"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong>

**Hello fellow readers. My apologies for the late update. I honestly thought this chapter was up and running already. Clearly it wasn't. Well here's the second chapter. I know it's not very interesting so far, but it will get better in the future. At the moment I can't promise the next update to be too soon. But I will try to have it up as soon as I can. **

**Bare in mind that this is a draft version. I will go over it soon enough. But if you do find any major mistakes don't feel frightened to let me know. But I will go over it later on in the future. I just thought to get the story out.**

****Thank you to those who has has reviewed, those who alerted or fav'd this story and to those who just read it.****

**For anyone who haven't read the story, welcome and please leave a comment or a full fledged review with some feedback!**

**Thank you!**


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